Moonlight Falls Silver
by Flutist Girl
Summary: Sesshomaru's inheritance was never a sword. What the InuNoTaisho had in store for his eldest son's birthright was something far greater: a chance to follow in his footsteps. The journey will call into question all that Sesshomaru has ever known.
1. Maiden in the Clearing

Chapter One: Maiden in the Clearing

It was not the first time that Jaken had brought the news that Rin was missing, but the familiarity of the situation brought no solace.

The green little demon groveled on his knees, crying lamentations and pleas for his life.

"I left her in your care," he reminded Jaken coldly, not without reproach.

"I turned my back for just one minute, my lord! She was just behind me and then—"

This alone was not enough to cause concern. Rin often drifted along veins of wildflowers that ran through the rich grasslands, or chased fish down crystal-clear rivulets. It wasn't the so much her wandering that concerned him.

"How long has she been gone?" he asked.

"Well, uh, my lord," Jaken ceased his shrieking for a moment to think, ticking the days off his fingers. "As soon as I found she was gone I waited for a few days, just to make sure I wouldn't bother you if it was her pesky wandering again. She usually comes back, you know! Uh…after that…I started to look myself, so I wouldn't bother you…and then it took some time to find you…" The small demon became increasingly uneasy as he kept talking and as he eventually ran out of fingers, he began to visibly sweat.

"I asked a simple question, Jaken," Sesshomaru restated. "How long has she been gone?"

It was the way his vassal wailed "Three weeks!" that worried him.

Sesshomaru ignored the excuses and apologies that gushed from the despondent demon. If, indeed, she was in danger, action (and not displays of emotion) would be necessary.

He walked away from Jaken, and began his search relatively sure that this was all just another minor mishap that Rin had gotten herself into.

It was when he caught her scent that thoughts of darker misfortunes began to ebb into his mind.

The smell of wolves was closely mingled with Rin's scent.

I can't smell her blood, he affirmed. Not yet. And there's no wolf tracks…

He had followed the scent of the girl all night—across forested hills, tranquil valleys, and even through a quaint little mountain town. But the trail ended here. He could sense his ward nearby and knew that she was but seconds away.

With caution, he approached the small and wavering campfire, Toukijin bare in the moonlight. He proceeded carefully, biding in the flickering shadows beyond the light of the flame. He did not want to provoke Rin's captor. If things should go wrong, Rin could not be saved by the power of his Tenseiga. Not again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rin, who was either sleeping or unconscious. He did not have the time to assess whether she was bound or not; all his attention was on the second form, the one he didn't recognize.

So she was abducted. The thought made his fists clench tightly around the hilt of the Toukijin.

The camp was unguarded, and judging by the thin form beneath the fur pelt, Rin's captor neither wore armor nor wielded any weapon sizable enough to detect. It was on its side, even the head covered by the fur. It was unnerving; he could not see a thing about this abductor. A danger that could be detected could be dealt with. He would rather have stared at a horde of full-blooded yokai in the face then have a poisonous viper out of the range of his senses.

What shall I do with it? he wondered. His mind told him that he should judge according to what had been done to Rin, but seeing as how this whole setup was too easy he was incredibly on edge, and he didn't want to take any chances by removing the mysterious figure from his sight.

Better to play it safe, he decided at last, and knelt at the side of the sleeping captor, placing the tip of his long blade where he judged the base of the neck to be.

Before he plunged downward, he ripped the pelt off the body, suddenly feeling a need to know who had done this to Rin. When he knew, when he could look into their eyes as they died, he reasoned, then his vengeance would be complete.

Bright green eyes started up at him, wide and alert despite having been so recently awakened.

It was a woman.

A human woman, dressed only in a modest kimono, armed with nothing stronger than the hairpins that clasped tiny forget-me-nots into her midnight hair.

The woman, wisely, did not move, but breathed heavily with the blade poised at her throat. Slowly, she spread her palms wide and held them up in a gesture of surrender. "Lord Sesshomaru," she breathed, voice tight with fear. "I-It is a pleasure to meet you. Rin has told me so much—"

He silenced her with a flick of his blade across one milky colored cheek. The cut would sting, but it had not been deep enough to draw blood.

She opened her mouth to speak, and then bit her bottom lip, trembling beneath his scrutinizing gaze.

"Who sent you?" he demanded of her.

"My lord?"

"Do not toy with me, woman. You are not strong enough to hold a hostage by yourself. Who sent you, and where is he?"

"I-a hostage?"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed to slits. "Your feigning ignorance does not amuse me. Talk, or I will make you." He allowed some of his rage to seep into his poisonous fingertips, making his claws glow with their deadly light.

She blanched at the threat, but could not speak. Her mouth opened and closed noiselessly, occasionally she stuttered or shook her head, but she found herself incapable of a response.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin said, rising up from under her heavy pelt. She rubbed her sleepy eyes with her small fists, yawning and stretching as she awakened. When she was less groggy, and she was sure that the voice of her Lord had not been a dream, her face began to radiate happiness, and she cried "Lord Sesshomaru!" laughingly as she threw herself around his legs. "You found me!"

Sesshomaru withdrew the sword and stared at the child that clung to his knees. "Rin, are you unharmed?" he asked solemnly, still keeping one suspicious eye on the woman.

Rin nodded, still beaming. "Of course!"

"This woman has not harmed you?"

"No!" She tilted her head, confused. "Why would she hurt me, Lord Sesshomaru? I don't understand."

Sesshomaru examined his ward with his full attention, even removing his sight from the woman to see if the girl spoke the truth. He could smell no blood. There were no bruises on her skin, not so much as a scratch. After he was certain that she was well, he began to notice other things. She was dressed in a new kimono, a cherry-blossom pink one embroidered with thread the color of pearl. Hanging from a branch was her old orange and white checkered outfit, drying from a thorough washing. The garment had been mended so well that it was unimaginable that Rin had worn it as she traveled for years on end. Her hair was washed, brushed, and trimmed so it was no longer so unruly. Around her neck was a pendant of jade, and on her feet were new, fine slippers.

She had been treated well in his absence.

"Hn." He turned his full gaze back to the woman, who had not moved except to clench the pelt that covered her in bloodless, trembling hands to her heart. Her eyes were wide, her breaths heavy and panicked.

"Rin, it is late. You will return to Ah-Un and Jaken and sleep under their protection."

"But My Lord, I'm very happy here—"

"Rin."

He did not need to say anything further. The girl understood and softly padded away without further question.

"I smell wolves," he said to the woman.

"It is probably just the pelt, my lord. We purchased it in town. It will keep her warm at night, and will last through heavy travel."

He turned his gaze to the fur Rin had been resting under. The woman spoke the truth.

"She was gone for three weeks."

She bowed her head humbly, eyes respectfully downcast. "I found her lost in the fields outside my village. I did the best I could to provide for her until you would return.

"You have traveled far. Why did you not wait at the village?"

"There were—some people who objected to my sheltering her, and we were hunted. It became necessary for the both of us to flee for our lives, my lord."

"Hn."

"My lord," the woman moved, slowly, to sit on her knees, and then bow before him. "It was an honor to care for your Rin. She is such a wonderful, spirited child…I am in awe of her strength."

Sesshomaru did not respond to this. "I do not bother carrying human money with me, as I have no need of such."

"I do not want payment, my lord. Take these things as gifts."

Sesshomaru's golden eyes narrowed. He did not like this woman, but he could find no reason to kill her. As far as he could see, she had done nothing but give Rin the very best.

And for some reason, that bothered him.

"You will not follow us." He swept up the pelt Rin had used, gathered her old clothing and her pack (which was bursting with supplies) and left. He had no further business with this woman. Rin was unharmed, and now well equipped for the days ahead.

If she should follow, he reasoned, it would grant an excuse to rid himself of her…permanently.

He frowned in distaste. The thought of her left him unsettled.

"Foolish woman," he murmured beneath his breath.


	2. Rin's Plea

Chapter Two: Rin's Plea

Rin was not asleep when he returned to the camp Jaken had prepared, despite the late hour. She was bursting at the seams with stories of her travels with the woman. She laughed, waved her hands, even danced around the small campfire with happy energy. All of Jaken's chidings could not stop the outpouring of her excitement.

She quieted as he approached, knowing that her chatter grated on his nerves, but was still beaming. "Did you like her, Lord Sesshomaru? She's so nice!"

He brushed the question away with a wave of his hand. "Tell me, what happened to you in my absence?"

"I just got lost, that's all. I went to a village to get some food. That's where I met Ayami! She's a princess, you know. A real one! Just like in the stories Mama told me when I was little!"

Sesshomaru was not as impressed as Rin was. There were many lords who had fought and won pieces of land. Daughters of those lords were not short in number. Her lineage did, however, explain the opulence to which Rin had been treated; the wolf pelt, the silken kimono…all would be trinkets to a wealthy lord's daughter.

"Why did you not stay in the village, where it was safe?"

Rin sobered a little, lowering her head and shrugging a little. "Lord Sesshomaru…the people in that village…" She scuffed her feet, uneasy. "They don't like demons," she said almost unintelligibly.

"Hn." She had no need to say more. She had traveled with him, a full-blooded yokai lord, for months. It was not uncommon to see humans who treated Rin with the same hostility they showed towards him merely because she remained at his side.

The difference was, such hostility posed no threat to Sesshomaru.

His lips tightened into a thin line as he prodded the waning fire.

"But it's okay!" Rin chimed, taking a bite out of a red fruit she had pulled from her backpack. "There were only a few who came after us when we left, and Princess Ayami's horse was fast."

Sesshomaru stood, convinced that the woman in the clearing had spoken the truth. "You need to rest, Rin. We will depart in the morning."

She nodded and took back her old kimono that Sesshomaru offered to her. She went a ways off to change out of her pink dress, taking a brush that Sesshomaru had not ever seen before from her pack as she left.

"Jaken."

"Yes, milord?

"I expect you to be more diligent. I do not want another such occurrence."

"Of course…milord."

And then, without further ado, he left, disappearing with the wind.

Rin came back holding the neatly folded pink kimono in her hands. "Master Jaken, can I keep it? It's so pretty."

Jaken leapt and snatched the garment from her hands. "Of course not!" He threw it on the ground and began to throw handfuls of dirt on it. "It's extra weight! Useless! Lord Sesshomaru would never condone such a waste! You ungrateful, selfish little…"

Rin sighed and let Jaken babble on. After being chastised by Sesshomaru, the small toad's pride was badly hurt, and he often took it out on her behind their lord's back. Such words did not hurt her. Sadly, she admitted to herself that Jaken was probably right. If she was to travel with Sesshomaru, such a fine garment would hardly be practical. She would probably never even get a chance to wear it again, or if she did, it would be ruined in one of the mishaps that seemed to follow her on her journeys with her lord.

After Jaken had finished his angry outburst, she dusted it off, folded it, and put it in the bushes, hoping a pretty little girl would find and enjoy it.

"Now get to sleep! I don't want you lagging behind and slowing our Lord Sesshomaru down!"

Rin settled herself on the pelt, fingering the pendant Ayami had given her. She loved how smooth it felt between her fingers and how it sparkled in the moonlight.

It felt good to have such a pretty thing….

"Do you think Princess Ayami will be all right on her own, Master Jaken?"

The small demon scoffed. "Who cares? Go to sleep, you pesky girl!"

Frowning, she pulled the pelt around her body and settled down, preparing for sleep.

"It feels so good to sleep without those samurai chasing us. I'm so glad we lost them," she said contently.

"I wouldn't be so sure. If they followed you past the mountains, those samurai must be pretty determined."

"I didn't ever actually see them, but Ayami insisted that we ride all day and most of the night. She seemed scared…" Rin stilled, her voice trailing off as what Jaken had said ran through her mind. Even she, innocent as her spirit was, could catch the implications.

"I need to tell Lord Sesshomaru…"

"You will do no such thing!" Jaken shrieked. "After all our lord has done for you, this is how you repay his generosity? By taking advantage of his strength to fulfill your own selfish ends?"

"She could be in trouble!" Rin cried. "They'll kill her!" Her eyes were beginning to overflow. "And all because of me…"

Rin threw the pelt from her body and ran, screaming for Sesshomaru. Jaken followed as fast as he could on his short legs, waving the staff he carried and trying to knock Rin's legs from beneath her. "You troublesome pest! You'll bother our great lord! And after he was so generous as to rescue such an undeserving wretch as you! You selfish, stupid girl! Get back here at once!"

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin yelled again, though she was out of breath from running and dodging Jaken's staff.

"What is it, Rin?"

He appeared so suddenly that Rin skidded to a stop, almost running into him. Waving her arms to regain her balance did no good as she tumbled to the ground at her lord's feet. Without losing his calm composure, Sesshomaru lifted her by the hand to her feet.

Rin buried her head in her lord's lap, clinging to him. "Lord Sesshomaru, it's Ayami! She might be in trouble! The samurai…they might…"

"Rin, calm yourself." Sesshomaru had known this all along and, judging from the sad look in the woman's eyes when he had left her alone, he suspected that Ayami had too.

"Please, my lord, you must go after her…"

"Out of the question!" Jaken screeched. "My lord, please forgive the intrusion, I'll take her back and—"

"No!" Rin wailed, grabbing fistfuls of the fabric of his pants and shaking. "She gave up everything for me. She was a princess! She had everything! But then I came, and she was the only one who would take care of me. Her own people threw her out for it! They called her such terrible things…her own father shamed her! He's the one who sent the samurai to kill her, and she never even looked back! Please, Lord Sesshomaru…you have to save her!"

"You ungrateful little-!"

"Jaken," Sesshomaru commanded. "Rin. Both of you, calm yourselves."

Jaken managed to contain his fury, but Rin still whimpered quietly and hadn't released him from her grip. When it became clear that she had no intentions of letting him go, he unfolded her fingers and freed himself from her clutches.

"Rin."

"Please. I'll never ask for anything ever again."

His eyes moved from Rin to the fuming Jaken. "Such impudence towards our gracious lord! You little—"

"Jaken," Sesshomaru said, a hint of warning in his voice. The little demon stilled at his lord's unspoken command.

"The woman," he inquired. "Ayami…does she mean so much to you, Rin?"

She nodded, brushing away her tears on her sleeve.

"Absurd," Jaken protested.

"Jaken!" This time, Sesshomaru raised his voice to his vassal, who shriveled under the weight of his master's biting voice.

"You are to watch Rin well in my absence."

"What?"

Sesshomaru did not stay to hear Jaken's furious protests. Without so much as a thought, he glided away on feet that hardly grazed the earth beneath, swift as the wind and just as silent.

Rin watched her lord leave and clasped her hands in a prayer. "Please hurry, Lord Sesshomaru!"


	3. Sesshomaru's Mercy

Chapter Three: Sesshomaru's Mercy

The samurai had left the princess in a pitiful state. Whether they had used whips or merely struck her repeatedly with their thin swords was impossible to tell, but her body wept her lifeblood freely. She bore bruises on every inch of her skin that Sesshomaru could see, and her legs were at odd angles to her body; probably snapped by the samurai's bare hands. Someone had hit her with a clay vessel, and shards pierced her face and throat, drawing rivulets of blood. She shuddered in pain with every breath and could no longer so much as cry in agony as they ripped her apart.

Paper sutras meant to banish demons had been thrown over her body, though the samurai knew full well that she was fully human. She had been doused in rice wine, a brew that the humans assumed would purify a host from a demonic taint. The wine made the ink from the sutras bleed, and so much of her body was covered in black shadows.

They had given her a ritualistic death befitting of a full demon as a last and final insult. A monk was even chanting some nonsense over her body—a binding spell, he realized. Yet another toy employed by humans against demons.

The sight left a bad taste in Sesshomaru's mouth.

"You reckon that's good enough?" one of the samurai standing over her body said.

His comrade laughed. Judging by the adornments he wore, Sesshomaru assumed that this was their captain. "Good enough? Should we do it all again just to be sure? I've got no complaints."

"I meant about the little girl she carried off," the first clarified. "Our lord wanted her as well, and alive."

Rin. Sesshomaru hoped that Jaken would not let his anger blind him tonight of all nights.

"You think we could ask her?"

"Heh…good idea." The captain knelt at Ayami's side and grabbed her long, midnight hair in one gauntleted fist, twisting it around his wrist to get a better hold, and then jerked her head up. Ayami was only barely responsive to the cruel treatment.

The samurai captain put his face hardly a breath's distance from hers. "Where's the filthy demon spawn you protected? Hm?" He jangled her like a puppet on a string, held by her hair.

"Dead," Ayami gasped. "A demon…a terrible demon…"

"You think I'm stupid?" He rammed her face into the ground. "If a demon killed her, why didn't he take you as well?"

Ayami did not answer, perhaps because she had lost the breath to do so.

"She's done for," the captain declared as he let her crumple to the earth, and the entire army cheered.

Sesshomaru had known this before he even reached Ayami's camp. He could smell the blood, ink, and rice wine from miles away. No mortal could survive such treatment.

And yet he could still hear her draw breath.

"Remarkable," he said dryly to himself. "For a pampered human princess."

The sound of his voice startled the samurai. Most drew their swords, looking frantically around. "Who goes there?" the one at Ayami's side demanded. "Show yourself!"

Sesshomaru obliged them and enjoyed watching as they shrunk away.

"Lady Ayami spoke the truth! It is a demon!"

"A full-blooded yokai!"

"What is it you want here, demon?" the captain demanded boldly, undeterred by Sesshomaru's arrival. "This is human business!"

"It would seem that you have given the woman a demon's death, and so it appears to be more my business than yours, human," Sesshomaru retorted calmly.

"This woman was a traitor. She defiled our village by harboring a filthy demon child. She deserved the death she got, and worse!"

"Death?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, amused. "Are you so ignorant? The lady breathes still. Your rituals have not taken her yet." Smiling slightly, he allowed a whip of energy to snake down from his fingers. "You celebrate too soon," he hissed as he cracked the thread of energy, throwing the cowering samurai off their feet.

"Be gone, demon!" the captain cried as he threw sutras at Sesshomaru. He did not try to dodge them, but withdrew his whip and calmly brushed them off himself. The sacred papers that the humans put so much trust in turned to ash at his touch.

"Are you done? I am."

Sesshomaru lashed out again, and the skies trembled with the might of his attack. His whip hit the earth with crash of thunder, and it split and broke into fragments at his touch. The samurai wise enough to flee, Sesshomaru let escape. It would do no harm to let the stories of his strength spread. But the ones who stayed received no mercy.

Sesshomaru saved the captain that had defied him for last, and took the man by the throat. "Do not make the mistake of hunting me again." He dropped the gasping man and went to Ayami.

"W-What business do you have with our lady?"

"Her life is now mine. I will deal with her as it should please me."

"W-Will you finish our work for us then, yokai?"

"I will do with her what I will!" he roared, flinging his whip at the bothersome captain. The man fled, screaming for his comrades.

"Coward." Sesshomaru did not bother with the samurai further. The fools did not deserve his attention.

Neither, he thought with a frown, did this Ayami woman.

"You are stubborn," he told her. "To withstand such pains and still breathe. I am amused by your tenacity, human."

She shifted a bit to look at him better beneath her wet hair. "…Thank you, I…suppose."

"Hn." Sesshomaru knew her situation was fatal. She was alive now through some grace of fate (or perhaps curse, he supposed, to live so long after receiving such wounds) but would not be for long. He guessed that, strong as she was, she would not survive to see the dawn.

He could revive her with Tenseiga…

But she had to be dead to be revived.

And he did not want to wait with a half-dead woman until dawn.

It would be a mercy to end her suffering, as well as a convenience.

"Ayami."

Her eyes were tired and clouded with pain as she gazed up at him, her eyes swimming as if she were dizzy. "Yes…?"

"Close your eyes."

"I will not," she breathed as vehemently as her broken body would allow. "I am not afraid…to look my death in the eyes."

Sesshomaru knelt at her side and bent so his face was a hair's breadth from hers. He stared her in the eyes, unleashing the full power of his killer gaze upon her to see if she would go back on her word. "Oh?" He shifted so all she could see was his amber eyes—the eyes of her killer, her death. "How very amusing…then we will see if there is indeed truth behind your words, mortal."

She watched him, warily, as he circled around her. The corners of his mouth twitched, begging to curl up into a demonic smile, his eyes widening, pupils slitting even thinner as his instinctive bloodlust started to permeate him. She kept her eyes locked on his, resisting the urge to flinch or look away.

She just didn't understand why he was still here.

It hit her, he saw the realization pierce her, just as his hand was thrust through her chest, clenching her heart, stopping it.

She knew she had been looking at death itself.

There was pain in her eyes, and shock from the brutal assault, but, true to her word, no fear. He had struck quick and true; she died before she had a chance to draw the breath to scream.

He felt Tenseiga pulse at his side, a sign that the powers of the blade of heaven were awakening. Ayami would not long remain in the shadow of death.

"Remarkable," he commented as he gripped the hilt of Tenseiga. "For a human."

With one swipe of his sword the demons that had crept upon her vanished, and he heard her draw breath once more and felt the beat of her heart resume. Most of her wounds had sealed, and color returned to her pale cheeks.

He had, as Rin had asked him to, saved Ayami.

And he had a feeling that he would soon regret it.

* * *

A/N: Will someone who's better at Japanese than me help me out? Am I using "hanyou" and "Yokai" correctly?


	4. Sisters in the Shadows

Chapter Four: Maiosameru and Kaminari – Sisters in the Shadows

Maiosameru thought that she had been imagining things when she saw Sesshomaru draw forth his Tenseiga and revive the human princess. He had called upon the sword's power once before in a similar situation, and had he left it at that, she might have brushed off the incident as a passing fancy to experiment with the blade entrusted to him.

But this was the _second_ time that, without prologue, Sesshomaru had revived a mortal woman.

She pursed her lips in thought, rotating two spheres in the palm of her hand; one of blood ruby, and the other of diamond. "How very unlike you, Sesshomaru," she purred silently into the night. "What could you be thinking?"

"Maio?" a soft voice called hesitantly.

Sighing, she toyed with the ruby by tossing it up, catching it on the back of her hand, and then fluidly rotating her hand so it rolled back into her palm. The ruby seethed with a dark light akin to the color of its master's eyes. She knew how the action would quell her sister. "No need to be so smug, sister. You were right, I admit it."

Her sister did not answer. She had not expected her to. She would still have doubts that she was even present if she could not feel the cloak of protection around her that shielded her presence from the demon's senses. Her voice was silenced, her scent diluted, her very aura stifled to Sesshomaru. He would not be able to sense her, nor trace her.

"How long until your prophecy is fulfilled, sister?"

The shadows, her sister, shifted. "I cannot see that far. My vision, it is…misty."

She frowned deeply and caught the ruby in her hand, clutching it. Her sister, Kaminari of the Oblivion, had always been able to discern bits of the future with startling clarity. Only now, as the sisters had turned their attentions toward this Ayami, had her foresight begun to waver.

"Are you sure of what you saw before?"

"Yes, sister," Kaminari affirmed.

"_That_ is _her_, Kami?"

"Yes, sister."

"I can scarcely believe it."

"…Yes, sister."

"And Sesshomaru?"

"The man and woman in my vision…they are before us. I am certain."

Maio laughed. "I almost hope you're right, Kami. This might be…_enjoyable_."

"…Yes, sister."

"Why so hesitant? If you want to say something, then come out with it already." She sent a tendril of power into the ruby, making it flare.

She felt her sister shift uneasily. "It is Sesshomaru. I think he senses us."

Maio turned to look at the demon. Kami was right to be alarmed. Sesshomaru had not moved, his body was tense in concentration, and his eyes were narrowed as he strained to see what he sensed.

"He can't see us, or hear us."

"I think maybe he…_smells_ us?" Maio asked hopefully.

"No such luck, sister. Your barrier hides our scents."

"Perhaps I…made an error…"

As hard as Kami tried to deny it, they both knew full well what it was that the InuNoTaisho's son had detected. Maio's ruby flared with her fury, and Kami only just managed to suppress a scream.

"Maybe it is time for us to retreat, sister." Maio could hear the desperation in her sister's voice.

"You go. I am done with you for the time being."

Kami was gone in the blink of an eye, and with her went most of the shields that protected her from Sesshomaru's senses. She had only a little time before she would be drawn into a confrontation with the Taiyoukai.

Maio walked out of the bushes, knowing the shields would hide her better than they had anyway, and approached the demon and his newly revived princess. She laughed; she was before Sesshomaru's very eyes and he would never know it! Still chuckling, she drew a paper charm that Kami had made and dropped it into the grasp of the breeze. It descended upon Ayami's forehead, and glowed red before it sank into her skin. The girl winced, but did not wake.

"That should serve you properly…at least until I have time to deal with you myself. Sweet dreams, _princess_!"

Ayami's eyes opened as Maio spoke. She had heard her.

It was enough to set Maio on edge as she fled.

_What_ was she?

* * *

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! They keep me moving on. It ain't easy to write sometimes... *scratches head*


	5. Neither Human Nor Youkai

Chapter Five: Neither Human nor Youkai

Rin was curled up by the fire, sleeping peacefully under the fur pelt, when he returned. Jaken, still bitter from the night's happenings, kept a reluctant but thorough watch.

"My Lord! You have returned!" The little toad's eyes widened. "And with the girl, too."

"Prepare a bed roll for her," Sesshomaru sternly commanded. "And warm something for her to eat." Jaken started to comply, but stopped rummaging through the blankets when the magnitude of what his lord had asked hit him.

"Surely we are not going to keep _another_ mortal woman, my lord?"

"She is weak and hunted. She will remain with us until we can find a village that will take her in. Her involvement with us will be very short."

Jaken, satisfied that this was temporary, continued to do as his master had asked.

He deposited Ayami at the base of an old tree, laying her against the trunk and the gnarled roots. She exhaled softly in response, her eyelids fluttering, but she did not wake. Her vigor had yet to return to her, and there were still minor wounds to be treated, the most noticeable of which were the shards of clay in her face and throat.

He left her and turned his attention to Rin. He had done as she had pleaded, though none of it had sat right with him. There had been something—or some_one_—in the clearing, watching them, flitting lithely just out of the reach of his senses. And there was something about Ayami—he couldn't put his finger on it, and it annoyed him to no end.

Still, it would upset Rin if he had left Ayami to die.

_It is only for a short while_, he reminded himself. _And then I can be rid of her_.

"If you don't mind my asking, my Lord, had the samurai found her when you arrived?"

Sesshomaru dipped his chin in a slight nod. "Found her, and done their work."

"Doesn't look too bad," Jaken said, approaching Ayami. "Although…are these sutr_AAAAAAAHHH_!"

Sesshomaru watched as the remaining sutras sent electricity through Jaken and winced at the loud protests of his vassal. Annoying though his blunder had been, he assumed that Jaken would need no further reprimand for his foolishness.

When the power left Jaken's body he lay face down in the earth, eyes and limbs twitching. "I'll get _Rin_ to remove them," the defeated toad croaked.

"They treated her as a demon," Sesshomaru said.

Jaken recovered quickly, and was brushing himself off. "That is most interesting my Lord. They even doused her with rice wine. Are you sure she's not-?"

"She has no youkai blood in her veins," he insisted, amber eyes flashing. "I assume the rituals were to shame her and mock her compassion for demons."

Jaken prodded her with the staff he carried. "But then, is she human, sire?"

This Sesshomaru could not answer. The samurai that had attacked her, the tiresome girls and the monk that his half-brother traveled with…her aura was unlike any of theirs. Hers was clearly not youkai, and yet was just different enough from a human aura to be disconcerting.

_What are you?_ he thought as he turned to look at Ayami, but her face, smooth in slumber, betrayed no answers.

"Jaken, wake Rin and have her tend to the girl."

"Right away, my Lord."

Rin, though usually a heavy enough sleeper to ignore Jaken's screeching, needed little to awaken her when she heard that Lord Sesshomaru had returned.

She threw her arms around Sesshomaru's legs and buried her face in his lap. He did nothing to encourage or deter the embrace.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru! You saved her, didn't you?"

"She is no business of mine. You must tend to her wounds yourself."

Rin nodded and scurried to Ayami's side.

"My Lord," Jaken said. "Forgive me for my asking, but when you said the samurai had 'done their work', did you mean…?"

Sesshomaru's eyes flashed and he strode regally away without another word.

"He did," Jaken said, flabbergasted. "They killed her and he…" Though he was only a minor demon, he could feel the traces of Tenseiga's power that lingered on the human still.

"What would prompt you to _do_ such a thing, Lord Sesshomaru!" he shouted after his master. "Not _again_!"

Sesshomaru, clearly, had not been as far away as Jaken had assumed, as a rock the size of his fist collided with his head and threw him to the ground, so he lay on his back with a lump the size of the rock on his skull.

"Do what, Master Jaken?" Rin asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru, I do wish you'd throw that blasted sword away sometimes."

Sesshomaru did not punish his vassal for that statement.

* * *

_The sky had wept that night, she remembered that much, and blades and bodies were dripping crimson. There was so much noise…all she wanted was to cover her ears, but her hands were bound. Even if she closed her eyes she could only see the tumult in her mind. _

_And that was her world. The chaos around her, and the confusion within her._

_"_You must tell him who you are_." Someone had told her. Someone important. Someone who had held her close and sung songs of such beauty… "_It is our only chance. Find the Lord at once and plead for his protection!_"_

_But she hadn't understood, and even now did not understand. 'Something's and 'someone's danced through her head, shards of a shattered key that were useless against her locked memory. _

_But bound as she was, it didn't matter anyway. She wasn't going to be telling anyone anything now._

_"I said what is your name, woman?" one of her captors spat at her. The voice was a hiss. As her eyes focused, she saw silver before her eyes. '_A knife_,' she realized nonchalantly. '_He's holding a knife to my throat…_' _

_"Can she even speak?" another one asked. _

_"I don't like her," another agreed. "Those markings on her face…"_

_"And her clothing. Could she be—"_

_Her head hurt terribly. She wanted to hold her ears and close her eyes, make it stop…_

_"Mmm…" she moaned from deep within her throat. "Mmm…mmmaahh! You! You—Youuu'lll r-r-regret…"_

_One of her captors purred in amusement. "We keep her for now. If she is who we think she is, she might be a valuable little doll to us. After all, the ties of blood are strong." The one who held balanced the knife precariously against her throat…it was a woman! And the blade, it was cold as ice. Ice that froze more than her skin…_

_She welcomed the darkness, for in it she could not perceive the battle raging around her._


	6. Rin's Wish

Chapter Six: Rin's Wish

When Sesshomaru returned, he found Rin caring for Ayami as best as her untrained hands could. The clay shards had been extracted from her face and throat and were smoldering in the fire. Rin was just patting the final bandage flat, some leftover healing herbs at her feet. She had caught a few small fish that were propped up with twigs next to the fire, cooking slowly, and had drawn fresh water from the stream in which she had caught her meal.

It was not much – doubtless, a princess of her caliber would have received much better treatment than some river fish and crude bandaging – but it was all that this forest and Rin had to offer. It would keep her alive, though the chances that she would scar were very high.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Rin asked. "Did I do it right?"

"You did well enough."

"Is she going to be all right?"

"Her life is in no danger."

"I think she's hurting, though…"

Sesshomaru turned his gaze to the woman. Though unconscious, her face was drawn, her smooth brow furrowed, and her skin blanched. Her lips moved in formless cries. If he strained his hearing, he could almost hear her heart beat as fast as a pinned hummingbird's wings, her breathing as choked as if she were drowning.

"Probably a nightmare," he commented dryly. Her frailty disgusted him. To be subdued by a mere phantom image was a human weakness that he looked on with disdain.

"Keep her quiet."

Rin blinked. She did not know how to do such a thing. Sesshomaru did not repeat his command, but waited until she came up with a solution of her own.

Rin gently shook the woman awake. Ayami awoke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat.

"Where are they?"

"Ayami?" Rin asked, confused.

"The girls in white. Where did they go?" There was urgency in her voice.

"I didn't see anyone like that, Ayami. It was probably just in your dream."

As her dream dissipated, color returned to her cheeks and her breath came more easily. She leaned back against the tree, exhausted from her struggle within her dream. "Oh, Rin. It's…nothing. I'm sorry if I frightened you."

"Rin, your fish are burning," Sesshomaru warned.

"Oh!" The girl ran to her cooking and hurriedly snatched the fish from the flames. Sesshomaru observed silently, noticing how Ayami's eyes wandered about their surroundings, searching, even though she was free of the dream.

"Did you…do all this for me, Rin?" Ayami asked.

The girl grinned. "I just cooked some fish and put bandages on. It was Lord Sesshomaru who saved you!"

Sesshomaru scoffed softly, turning his head away. "I did no such thing. I merely wished to spite those impudent samurai."

He heard nothing for the longest while, and assumed that the matter had dropped. When he turned to confirm this, though, he found that Ayami had limped to his side and fallen on her knees.

"My lord," she said quietly, shaking with fervor, "whether it was your intention or not, you saved my life. If there is something I can do to show my gratitude…"

His eyes narrowed and flashed. "Rin. Gather more water."

The girl quickly went to do as he asked her, singing and skipping her way down to the river, not aware of the tension in the air.

"I don't want anything from you," Sesshomaru stated when Rin was out of hearing range.

"My life is yours, my Lord."

He glared at the woman, but her head was bowed so low that she didn't see it.

"Get off your knees, woman. Your groveling is annoying me."

It was when she raised her head that he saw that it was not gratitude that was making her hands and voice shake so.

It was raw terror.

Sesshomaru smirked a little. "Do you fear me, Ayami?"

She did not answer, but the answer was written in her eyes. He had been the one to kill her, after all, though he was also her savior. _And after she so fervently claimed that she did not fear death…_

"There is nothing you could do for me, human."

When it became clear that she was not going to move away from him, he rose and strode regally away from her, coldly turning his back to her.

"You will leave us as soon as our journeys take us to a human village. I have no further business with you."

"Yes, my lord. I understand." Ayami submitted meekly.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Rin said quietly. While they had argued, she had returned with her vessel filled with fresh river water. Ayami jumped, surprised by the small voice, but Sesshomaru did not even turn his head, seeming to sense the girl behind him without needing to use his eyes. "Does Ayami really have to go?"

No one answered.

"We could be a family! Just like I used to have!" Rin continued. "Jaken could be like my brother, and Lord Sesshomaru could be Father and Ayami could be Mother!"

The whites of Sesshomaru's eyes turned flat crimson.

Ayami screamed. Even though she lived the sheltered life of a human princess, she knew the signs of a demon losing control of his feral blood. Rin dropped the vessel, frightened by Ayami's scream. She was not facing him; she could not have seen Sesshomaru's eyes.

But as soon as it came, it disappeared.

"Rin," he said, and in his voice was fierce anger, "you are _never_ to speak in such a manner again."

Rin blinked, unbelieving. She had heard that voice before. Seldom, as Sesshomaru was not one to lose his temper often, but it surfaced every now and again when they spoke of his half-demon brother InuYasha or his father.

But Sesshomaru had never, _ever_, used such a tone on Rin. Not after all the trouble she had caused him with her human needs of food and shelter, or after her inquisitive nature made her talk much more than her lord liked, or when her life had been endangered and he had to go out of his way to rescue her.

Never, not once, had that voice been used toward her.

"Lord Sesshomaru…"

"Am I understood, Rin?"

Rin nodded, too stunned to speak, and then turned her back and ran. Sesshomaru did not try to stop her.

He looked back to Ayami, who was trying to hide behind her hands. Savagely, he ripped her hands away from her face to see tears and release screams she had been suppressing. He knew she saw how his eyes had turned red again, how his mouth and eyes widened and his jaw lengthened. Most of all, he knew she felt the full force of his demonic energy swirling around him. She was helpless against it, a ragdoll in a whirlwind held to the earth only by his crushing grip on her wrists.

"You say your life is mine, _girl_." His voice was less and less human with every word. "If you _ever_ speak of this, I will take it." He threw her hands from his grip just after his claws had lengthened enough to bite into her creamy flesh. Shock rendered her unconscious, and she was thrown to the earth in silence as he ascended into the skies roaring in fury.

_Father…I will not make the same mistake you did!_

* * *

_The news had passed down to him by accident. He had not asked for affirmation or even any clarification. He knew it to be true._

_He had fled to the seaside. He did not know how long he had stood gazing over the vast western ocean, only that his father had come to him at sundown._

_"Sesshomaru," the InuNoTaisho said, reaching out a hand to lay it on his eldest son's shoulder. "What ails you, son? You are not yourself."_

_"Strange," Sesshomaru replied, walking away from his father's touch. "I was about to ask you the same thing. Tell me, Father, what is it that has possessed you to discard your honor in such a despicable manner?"_

_The InuNoTaisho paused. "So…I take it you have heard." He turned toward the east. "Forgive me. I did not mean for you to hear in such a way."_

_"I suppose the delivery of the news is trivial. The act itself, however, I cannot forgive."_

_Father and son stood back to back for a long time, each staring into a different horizon._

_"Will you hear me out, Sesshomaru?"_

_"I will not."_

_"It will harm you more than me if you cannot bring yourself to understand."_

_"Then so be it."_

_"Sesshomaru…"_

_The seabirds above them cried, the waves crashed at their feet, and neither of them moved._

_"What do you see, my son?"_

_Sesshomaru scoffed. "A sunset, nothing more."_

_"You see this as an end."_

_"No. I see a beginning. A beginning of a long, dark night." Sesshomaru's voice dripped with quiet resentment. "What is her name, Father?"_

_"I cannot tell you that."_

_"So it is true. You would put her happiness over mine. You protect her at my expense."_

_"I don't think you know what would bring you happiness, Sesshomaru. Killing her would dull your pain only for a moment. What's done is done, and you cannot change it."_

_"With her blood I might be able to salvage some scant remains of this family's honor."_

_"Honor…is that what concerns you so?"_

_"Honor," Sesshomaru said. "And strength. You have sacrificed both for a mortal woman." _

_The InuNoTaisho laughed softly, sadly. "Sesshomaru, you do not know of what you speak. Honor and strength…do you know anything more?"_

_"Everything else is irrelevant now."_

_"Not everything, son. What has your mother told you?"_

_Sesshomaru's lip curled in disgust. "More than enough."_

_"Is she well with it?"_

_"She does not care. Why would she? She has been separated from you for over one hundred years."_

_"I assumed as much," InuNoTaisho said. "Then, your bitterness does not stem from the fact that I have moved away from your mother."_

_"Be not a fool. That does not concern me."_

_"Are _you_ ashamed, then? For what I have chosen?"_

_"I am your heir. Your legacy falls upon me. Now, my inheritance is one of weakness and ultimate dishonor."_

_"Honor and strength you know, my son, but of all the things I have sought to teach you, I have failed in the greatest regard. What will it take for me to teach you to love, my son?"_

_Sesshomaru's eyes flashed crimson, but his composure did not slack. "…Love?" he asked incredulously._

_The InuNoTaisho smiled knowingly. "Her name is Izayoi. And her son…your younger brother…his name will be Inuyasha."_

_"Inuyasha…"_

_"He will be born the night of the lunar eclipse."_

_"Why are you telling me this? Don't you know that I wish to kill her and the filthy hanyou pup she carries?_

_The InuNoTaisho smiled. "Because, my son, I want you to learn of your true legacy."_

_When Sesshomaru turned to ask his father what he meant, he found that he had taken to the skies, heading east, going as if to lead him._

_As Sesshomaru rose to follow, he heard his father speak again, his voice as gentle as the crash of the waves._

_"My son, let me teach you of your inheritance."_


	7. The Tomb

Chapter Seven: The Tomb

They had not seen Sesshomaru for three days, and they had begun to worry that he had moved on without them. Jaken, Ayami, and Rin had packed their supplies onto Ah-Un and continued forward, hoping to meet up with the Taiyoukai eventually, though Jaken insisted that if Lord Sesshomaru did not want to be found, there would be no finding him. Even so, Ayami wouldn't let herself believe that their march was futile. At the very least, the journey kept her last conversation with Sesshomaru at the back of her mind.

The crossed over a mountain range and were walking through a serene prairie, Rin riding on Ah-Un's back, Ayami leading the two headed dragon by the reins, and Jaken leading the way, grumbling about how useless this was. Ayami scarcely heard the small demon through her musings.

"Ayami, can I pick some wildflowers? There's a beautiful patch over there!" Rin waited patiently for an answer, and when Ayami didn't answer, she patiently repeated the question.

"Oh, sorry, Rin. Of course. Let's take a rest."

Rin didn't wait for the dragon to stop. She slid off the saddle and rushed toward the blossoms, arms outstretched like wings as she skipped and sang.

Ayami rested against Ah-Un's side, pulling out dried meat to nibble distractedly on. She could hear Rin humming as she picked the flowers and wove them into a circlet for her hair.

"In the mountains, in the breeze, in the forest, in my dreams. Lord Sesshomaru, where are you? Jaken is serving under you too. I will wait for you on my own. Please return to me, waiting all alone. With you and Jaken and Ayami, always happy I will be."

Ayami frowned upon hearing the last line, and Jaken scoffed loudly. "Never heard that last line before."

"What happened to her family, Jaken?" Ayami asked.

"They were killed by thieves. She's the only one who survived."

"What do you think of…what Rin said last night?"

"Well, let me tell you that if anyone other than Rin had suggested such an idea, Lord Sesshomaru would not have hesitated to kill them most gruesomely."

"I see…"

"The nerve of that little imp!" Jaken exclaimed. "To think she would get the idea that the great Lord Sesshomaru would wed a mortal woman and claim Rin as his daughter! It's the ultimate disgrace! If I was Lord Sesshomaru, I would have knocked some sense into that girl…"

"He really loves Rin, doesn't he?" Ayami asked musingly.

"_Loves_ her?" Jaken exploded in laughter, rolling on the ground, helpless with mirth. "Lord Sesshomaru, _loves_ Rin? What need does my Lord have for such sentimental foolishness!"

Ayami only sighed softly, dropping her small snack to the ground, as she had lost her appetite as of late.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she was startled when Rin's little hands slid a coronet of blossoms around her head. The girl smiled, and then put an identical one around her own head. "Aren't they so pretty?"

"They are," Ayami said gently.

Ayami saw a flash of light in the corner of her eye. She looked over to see Sesshomaru standing on the brink between forest and meadow.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin called, holding up the flower tiara she had woven. "I made a tiara so I can wear it when I become your princess!"

Ayami hid her face behind her midnight hair, lowering her eyes respectfully. She would not look at him, though she couldn't escape his presence looming like a shadow over her. "My lord," she greeted quietly.

"Rin, I need to speak with Ayami. Alone."

"Yes, my Lord." And Rin scampered away to weave more flowers.

But Rin had no need to leave, as Sesshomaru did not plan to stay.

He seized Ayami's arm and then she was flying.

There had been no transition from the time he grabbed her and when she was so high up in the air that the fields looked like small patches, the rivers like tiny garden snakes.

She had a feeling that she was not the only one feeling awkward in this position (clinging to the fringes of his sleeves for dear life, only partially supported by one arm that touched her no more than was absolutely necessary), but Sesshomaru's face and eyes betrayed nothing but mild amusement at her uneasiness, his lips curled in the barest smirk.

She dangled in his loose grip, helpless in his arms, dependent on him for her survival. She tried to swallow her shame, but could not.

Sesshomaru, she had to admit, was a sight to behold. His long, silver hair became whips of moonlight in the sun's fading beams, flowing as smooth as a river in the winds. His eyes were tilted ever-so-slightly toward the heavens, and they glowed not amber, but gold in the light. There was power, regality, in the way he held himself, and dignity in his form.

She felt very small in his grasp.

Ayami looked toward the earth, mesmerized by the way such vast landscapes passed before her eyes in only a few heartbeats. Gradually, the fear began to ebb away and was replaced with wonder.

"If I might inquire, Lord Sesshomaru, where are we going?"

"To the place where my honor is dead." He left her with nothing more to ponder.

"My Lord, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I am slipping and you're only using one arm to-"

She stopped dead in her tracks, mouth open.

His left sleeve was helpless to the wind, whipping entirely behind him in a position that no arm could replicate…

_He only has one arm!_ She realized with a jolt.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, daring her to say anything about it.

"Forgive me…I didn't realize…!"

He scoffed. "I do not want your _disgusting_ human sympathy. As for you slipping, I will not inconvenience myself to ease your petty fears, woman. Remember that."

It was after all was said and done that a new thought hit her.

_I was going to ask him to embrace me!_

She spent the rest of the trip in silence, reminding herself that it had only been to have some more support so she would not fall to her death.

_If I did fall, would he have caught me?_

Such thoughts would not leave her tormented mind. With each passing second, she was surer and surer that this Taiyoukai was dangerous-_very_ dangerous-to her.

Perhaps even deadly.

* * *

Nothing more was said until he descended. Once his feet touched the earth, he dropped her, leaving her to compose herself on her own.

"Drink this."

Sesshomaru threw a small vessel of bamboo at her feet. Ayami picked it up and removed the cap, then pressed her lips to the rim and recoiled. The scent alone was scathing, hotter than steam.

"Drink it _all_, woman"

It took her several painful gulps, but Ayami dutifully emptied the vessel, though it felt that fire ran down her throat.

She was at a tomb, she realized. It was a dwelling of stone in the middle of a vast plain. Little grew in the area, and except for some sparse grasses, there was no signs of any life in this area. Small stings of paper diamonds that respected the dead swayed in a stale breeze.

"My Lord, what is this place?"

"The tomb of my father. Or rather, a memorial. His remains are no longer here."

_A place where my honor is dead_, Ayami remembered Sesshomaru saying.

She bowed her head reverently, clasping her hands and saying a quick prayer in respect. Sesshomaru scoffed.

"_He_ would have been the type to _accept_ a human prayer. But I hardly suppose the fool could possibly be shamed any more than he already is."

"Have you no respects to pay to your own father?" Ayami asked, somewhat taken aback by his ferocity.

"No more respects than he paid to me."

Ayami only whispered the final words of her prayer, so as not to be overheard by Sesshomaru. "You must forgive your son, great InuNoTaisho. I am sure he knows not of what he speaks…"

Sesshomaru's silence was seething and hostile. She wondered if he had heard after all.

"Why did you bring me here, my Lord, if your father is such a bitter enemy to you?"

Sesshomaru began coldly, his back turned to her. "You heard what it was that Rin said."

Ayami dared not reply.

"What do you think of Rin?"

"I…she is like a little sister to me." As soon as the words left her mouth, she clamped her hands over her lips. It was the wrong thing to say, true though it was, and she knew it.

"A sister." His chuckle was low and dark, almost too quiet to hear. "That will suffice…for now."

"…For now, my Lord?" She raised her head in inquiry. Sesshomaru had not moved and was still staring into the horizon, his long hair and the fur draped over his shoulder swaying in the breeze.

"You are indebted to me, Ayami. You yourself said that your life is mine."

He turned to her then, sharply, and at once he was before her. "I have come to claim it."

And Sesshomaru lunged for her.

* * *

A/N: I'm trying to make Sesshomaru act like...well, Sesshomaru. Help on accomplishing this would be much appreciated. :3 (gestures subtly to "review" button)


	8. The Proposal

Chapter Eight: The Proposal

Ayami was thrown to the ground, face up, arms splayed wide. Sesshomaru stood above her, the tips of his claws glowing with lethal venom. Ayami drew in one sharp breath, held it, and closed her eyes tightly as she waited for death.

She felt his claws rake across her left ankle. For a heartbeat, there was no pain, and then her leg was set ablaze.

As she opened her lips to scream, her wrist was caught in Sesshomaru's crushing grip. He pulled her up, holding her by her wrist.

"Rin has made her wishes known. She desires a family. So be it."

His nails began to bite into her wrist and she screamed, clawing at his arm to try to pry it off.

"It is convenient that you are pledged to me, for I will have you to be her mother." His claws, buried so deep in her flesh that they nearly grazed the bone, rotated, drawing four perfectly straight lines in blood.

"I am heir to the Western Lands, and master of the Western Palace. You will stay there, behind the castle walls, and raise Rin as if she were your daughter."

His claws had now carved half of the way around her wrist. His poison was searing her, and she could no longer see anything but his fierce, golden eyes through the fiery pain.

"She is to be trained as a princess. You will teach her to read, to write, to sing and make herself beautiful. She will be raised as an heiress, worthy to be the equal of any man she should so choose, whether demon or mortal." With every word, his claws progressed a little farther, cutting her as slowly as he could manage.

"My Lord…!" Cries for clemency sprang to her lips, but she could not speak them.

His claws had now drawn four thin, parallel lines that completely encircled her wrist; permanent shackles drawn in blood that would leave deep and lasting scars.

He released her, and let her fall to the ground, her ankle and wrist bleeding without restraint.

"I have marked you. All demons who approach you will recognize the scent of my poison that is burned into your very veins. You are mine, Ayami. You are forever chained to me."

Ayami knew it was true as she stared at her wounds. She was bound to him by shackles drawn in her own blood.

"The antidote you consumed will spare your pathetic life, but you will forever feel the pain of my venom. Let that serve as a reminder of who your master is. Know that it is only a taste of the agony I will put you through should you fail in this task. I will allow you to live as long as you are useful to me, woman."

Sesshomaru seized her throat in his hand, clenching it so she could not breathe the last words. When he released her, he positioned his hand with his little finger just below her jaw, letting the very tips of his four fingers rest on her flesh as she struggled to regain her breath.

"Never forget this," he hissed in her ear, his tone murderously furious. His fingernails and eyes glowed and in one savage swipe, he drew a collar around her neck in blood and poison.

"You are a luxury, not a necessity." It was the last thing Ayami heard Sesshomaru say before she fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

_Izayoi, as his father had called her, was easy enough to find. She was heavy with child and he could smell traces of his father's scent on her still – though he knew not whether that scent came from the woman or her hanyou pup. The villagers despised her, and kept a wide berth from the woman, for she was carrying the child of a demon. Some whispered names, others refused to sell her their wares or charged her far more than they were worth, and everyone stared with hatred in their eyes._

_The woman, Izayoi, still held herself with the poise of a noblewoman, unashamed by the half-breed she nurtured within her womb._

_Sesshomaru watched her make her way through the market, slowed by the weight of the pup. In her basket were a few bruised fruits and some stale bread. He watched as vendor after vendor turned her away with harsh words, slammed doors, and sometimes even physical blows._

_She carried on her way, undaunted. Sesshomaru found it infuriating that the woman would not suffer for the shame she had brought to his noble family. He would have been very satisfied to hear her weep or beg, but she did neither. _

_It nearly made him ill to watch her hold herself with such pride when she was the reason he had lost his own._

_He managed to restrain his fury enough to follow at a distance. He observed her long path, biding his time. He would gain revenge soon enough._

_His chance came as she retired into her home. She sat on a futon and bid the servants and guards leave her, claiming that she felt ill and needed to rest. Stiffly, she lowered herself to lie on her back, one hand resting on her stomach as she breathily hummed. Her eyes closed, her breathing deepened, and yet she would not succumb to sleep._

_Sesshomaru lingered in the shadows of the room, not ten paces from where Izayoi and her accursed pup rested, each as breakable as porcelain._

_He could smell his father on her, and the pup's scent was nearly overpowering. He vowed that he would not be exposed to that scent long enough to recognize it ever again: he planned to snuff the life from the child himself._

_His long fingers curled, his knuckles cracking._

_The woman's eyes shot open, and she clutched the blanket to her as some feeble protection. "Who is there?" There was fear in her voice. It was music to Sesshomaru's ears. He stepped into the light, and waited until she saw and recognized him to attack._

_"You are…Sesshomaru!"_

_Izaiyoi had not the time to cry out any more before she was in his grasp, her thin throat clenched in Sesshomaru's claws. As he felt the woman's pulse against his palm, Sesshomaru's blood seethed with rage. How he longed to crush her pulse and silence that tiny, roaring heartbeat within her womb…!_

_"_Wind Scar_!"_

_Sesshomaru had no choice but to release his prey to evade the blow. When the glow from the blast of energy evaded, Izaiyoi was protectively clutched to the InuNoTaisho's chest with one arm while the other wielded the Tetsaiga._

_The woman clung to his father, and bile rose in Sesshomaru's throat. The repulsion was _almost_ strong enough to make him forget that his father was using the sword that was his birthright against him. _

_"Sesshomaru, I am ashamed of you."_

_"I didn't think you would be capable of feeling shame anymore," Sesshomaru seethed. "Not after mixing your blood with such vile filth!"_

_"Leave us at once, son! I will deal with you later."_

_"I will do no such thing. Either the woman or I will die before I leave this place."_

_"Sesshomaru, do not make me fight you!" _

_"Will you kill me then, father? Your son, your heir, over a _mortal_?"_

_Sesshomaru lashed out with his claws, but his father was more deft, and blocked the swipe with the blunt side of the broad Tetsaiga. "Sesshomaru! Stand down, son!"_

_But Sesshomaru would not. Despite his every move being blocked, he continued to lunge for Izayoi._

_**"Stand down, Sesshomaru!"**_

_"I will not!" Sesshomaru roared. "Not until that hanyou is __**dead**__." _

_The InuNoTaisho unleashed another Wind Scar at his son to buy time, and then released Izayoi. "Run! Take cover!" he urged, but the woman would not leave his side._

_The lapse in his father's attention was all that Sesshomaru needed. Even the Backlash Wave that was thrown back at him came too late; Sesshomaru had gotten one deep swipe with his poison claws into the arms that she had raised to shield herself._

_Sesshomaru lay on the wooden floor, bleeding and too hurt to move. He heard the woman's cries and he heard his father soothe her. She gasped softly as the InuNoTaisho cut her further to bleed the poison out (he heard him sucking the poison from her veins, and nearly retched with repulsion), and then bound her legs tightly before she lost enough blood to endanger her life. At some point she had passed out._

_He did not allow himself to believe that he had won. The woman would live; his father would not allow her to die. _

_His father then moved to stand above him. Though his eyes were ablaze with fury, he still stretched his hand out to his son in an offer to help him stand._

_Sesshomaru unleashed a feral growl at the offer, and jerked back, somehow managing to rise to his knees._

_"How could you do this, son?" His voice was oddly quiet, and infinitely sad._

_"You led me here. You should have expected this."_

_"I trusted you! I did not want to believe that your malice ran so deep!"_

_Sesshomaru smirked. "Believe this, then: I will kill that child. If I die myself, so be it."_

_"Son…"_

_"I am the son of the honorable InuNoTaisho," Sesshomaru panted through his own blood. "It is clear to me that he no longer exists."_

_"Sesshomaru…!" _

_"You fought me, father. Turned your sword, my birthright, against me! You are a traitor to your own blood."_

_"Will you ever __**listen**__, Sesshomaru?"_

_"I have made my choice, and you, yours. We have said all that needs to be said. Goodbye, father. From now on, you are dead to me."_

_"Sesshomaru!"_

_Sesshomaru turned his back to his father._

_**"Sesshomaru!"**_

_His father left Izayoi to try to come after him, and even once grabbed his wrist, but Sesshomaru had begun the transformation into his demon form. He slipped out of his father's grasp to take to the skies. The InuNoTaisho forlornly watched him go. He would not transform himself to follow after Sesshomaru._

_"My son…"_

* * *

A/N: Sesshomaru is a hard character to write, as I'm quickly finding out. He does have flares of passion (angry passion, not love passion), but not very often. In the flashback he's still raw over having a half-breed brother and his father betraying him, et cetera. He hasn't had all those years to mellow out yet, remember. In the first part he's worked up, but I can't tell you over what just yet. :3 Anyway, feedback would be extremely appreciated! Did I overdo the angry Sesshy part? Help me keep him in character!

And now to questions! Thanks for asking them, they keep me aware of what I need to make more clear. 3

Sesshomaruandrin1: A very fair question, but one that I can only answer in part without giving everything away. I will say that romance isn't the main point on my agenda for this story (notice that I listed the genre as hurt/comfort and family), although it will have its place and will actually show up pretty soon. I _love_ a good Sess/Rin story, but this story won't be one. It will be more of a father/daughter relationship between those two. As for Sess/Ayami, again, can't say much except that she has her own, _very_ unique role to play.

Silent Scribe: Another good question. This is a few years after the main storyline, three or four-ish. I'll go ahead and admit it now; I didn't know about The Final Act until just recently, and as such this story probably won't be compatible with it, since I didn't know about it and I'm already too far in to change my course enough to fit the new canon. So…chronologically, think of it as three or four years after season 7…in a world without Naraku (how was I supposed to know that they'd come out with another season where they'd resolve all this junk? I'm glad but heck…warning would have been nice.)


	9. The Omega

Chapter Nine: The Omega

Sesshomaru had returned without a word, carrying Ayami, who was senseless, and whose wrist, neck, and ankle were tightly bound with bandages. The cloths only just held back the tide of her blood; they were deeply ensanguined. She was blanched white, and laid limp in the crook of Sesshomaru's arm. Terror was still written clearly on her face.

In contrast, there was no emotion on Sesshomaru's. He was as blank and cold as slate.

Rin cried out in alarm. "Ayami! What happened to her?"

Jaken said nothing, but narrowed his large, yellow eyes in suspicion.

"Mount Ah-Un, Rin," Sesshomaru replied. "We take to the skies." He did not wait for them to follow orders, but rose heavenward, still holding Ayami.

Rin scampered onto the two-headed dragon and tugged the reins. Hardly needing the command, the creature rose to follow Sesshomaru, whose form was already very small with the distance. Jaken, who was late on the uptake, had only the time to flounder for hold on the dragon's tail. Rin couldn't make out the details of his infuriated rants over the wind, but could hear his frustration all the way.

* * *

Sesshomaru landed on the grounds of a castle in the sky. Before him was a woman, sitting on a throne of gold and scarlet as if anticipating his arrival, wrapped in a fine kimono and a robe of sapphire lined with a pelt of white fur. On her brow was a blue crescent moon identical to Sesshomaru's, and beneath each honey-amber eye there was a single magenta stripe.

"You come again Sesshomaru, and so soon after your last visit?" the woman asked. Her lips were curled into a coy smile, her amber eyes alight. "I haven't seen you in a century or more, and now you come twice within a few short months. What is the occasion this time? More questions about your father, perhaps?"

Sesshomaru scoffed. "Hardly."

The female youkai rose to her feet. "Then, if it isn't a question, and assuming your pride is still too strong to ask your mother for aid, I take it you come with news. Perhaps concerning that creature you're holding, son?" Her cunning smile said that she thought knew it all.

Sesshomaru approached his mother and dropped Ayami unceremoniously at her feet. Ayami did not stir from her slumber.

Ah-Un landed behind Sesshomaru, and Rin slid from the saddle as Jaken tried to find footing after being thrown around by the dragon's tail. "Lord Sesshomaru," Rin called. "Hello my lady!" she greeted kindly, grinning and dipping into a small curtsy.

His mother looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. "You still keep the human girl and the little demon at your side?" she asked. "I am surprised."

"The company I keep is no business of yours."

His mother acted as if wounded. "Such coldness…even towards your own mother."

Sesshomaru did not react. Rin came up to his side and stood by his leg. Jaken stayed a ways behind with Ah-Un, looking none too pleased to be where he was.

Sesshomaru's mother looked more closely at Ayami, paying particular attention to her bandages. "It is not the normal way that one marks a mate, but I suppose it is effective. No one will be left with any doubts about to whom she belongs."

The sly comment produced a squawk from Jaken, and Rin looked up at Sesshomaru, anticipating an answer.

"Lady Mother or not," Jaken protested, waving the Staff of Two Heads above his head, "no one gets away with implying that my noble Lord would take such a disgusting creature to be his _mate_…!"

Sesshomaru had only to say the imp's name for the little demon to back away, lest he incur his Lord's wrath.

"Is it true, Lord Sesshomaru? Is Ayami going to be my mother?"

"You do not need me to tell you that she is _not_ my _mate_," Sesshomaru answered both Rin and his mother, his eyes several shades darker.

"Indeed?" Sesshomaru's mother asked. "Then why mark her at all?"

"She is indebted to me. I have chosen to have her repay that debt by acting as Rin's guardian."

Rin's eyes lit up and she broke out into a huge grin. Jaken only groaned, having suspected that this was the case.

"The number of people at your side grows, Sesshomaru," his mother commented. "What an odd little family you keep: a little demon, a young girl, and now a mortal woman." She turned to her son and smiled coyly. "Why did you bring her here, Sesshomaru?"

His eyes narrowed. "I do not need to explain myself."

"Bring her, then."

"Rin, Jaken, stay with Ah-Un." Sesshomaru lifted Ayami by her wounded wrist and followed his mother into the main pavilion.

His mother's toying smile was gone. "Lay her on the futon." Sesshomaru did so without excess grace or decorum. "Leave us. I will speak with her alone."

* * *

The burning in her blood woke her.

She was lying on a simple futon in the middle of a spacious but vacant room. She rose to her elbows, disoriented, and tried to gauge where she was, but out the windows there was nothing but sky, sun, and clouds.

"You are awake, mortal," a woman's voice said. "It took you long enough."

Ayami shook her head to shake the sleep from her mind and unconsciously began to rub her wrist, which was throbbing. Only after she had pulled herself into a sitting position did she turn around to face the woman.

Ayami peered at her for a long time, and she made no movements to discourage her. "Do you know who I am?" the woman asked after Ayami had time to look.

"You look like…my Lord. You bear the same markings…the same face, and eyes."

She smiled, but it was neither kind nor warm. "Perceptive, little mortal. I am Sesshomaru's mother."

Ayami pulled her knees under her and pressed her forehead to the futon in a deep bow. "My Lady," she murmured. "Forgive me. I don't know the proper way to show respect to a Taiyoukai."

"Enough. Face me. You and I have much to talk about. Sesshomaru has asked me to ascertain some things about you."

Ayami did as she commanded, but kept her eyes averted.

"Stand."

Ayami obeyed.

Sesshomaru's mother began to circle Ayami, observing her closely. "Hmm…tell me of your family."

"I was exiled, my Lady. I have no living kin to claim me."

"How very tragic," she replied blandly, still deep in thought. "Tell me your lineage, then."

"I am the fifth child of the Lord of a village far from here, and the only daughter."

"You are royalty among mortals, then?"

"…I _was_, I assume."

"Continue."

"What would you like to know, my Lady?" Ayami was trying to hide it, but she was very uncomfortable with how closely the female youkai was scrutinizing her.

"Tell me how you met my son."

"Rin had gotten lost one day and wandered into my village. I took her in as my honored guest, and that angered my father."

"Why?" The glint in her eyes told her that this woman knew full well why, but wanted to hear her say it anyway.

"Because she was the ward of a Taiyoukai," Ayami said softly.

The Lady Mother laughed. "You do not fear youkai as you should, mortal. Continue."

"We fled together, running from the samurai that my father sent to kill me. When I found Sesshomaru, we parted ways. It was after that that the samurai caught up to me and…killed me." It felt funny to say, she thought. Even the thought that she was once dead was foreign.

"A condensed version, surely. I can sense the bite of Toukijin in your heart, mortal. I know who it was that ended your life. Do not play me for a fool."

"Then surely you don't need me to tell you who it was that revived me, as well." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she bit her tongue, hard.

Sesshomaru's mother hummed; a sound rather like a snake's warning rattle. "You have an impudent tongue, girl. See that you bridle it in my son's presence."

"Yes, my Lady. I will remember."

"You will not live long if you do not." The Lady stopped her pacing and gracefully sat on the futon. Ayami, belatedly, sunk to her knees so as not to appear higher than her superior. The female Taiyoukai hummed a half-approval. "One more question, mortal, and I shall know what I need to about you."

"Yes, my Lady."

"My son," she said simply. "What is he?"

Ayami blinked, uncomprehending. "What…is he? I'm afraid I don't understand…"

"I asked you plainly enough," she repeated, irritated. "What is my son? What is he in your eyes?"

Ayami closed her eyes and thought for a long while. Sighing, she began. "Lord Sesshomaru is…strong. And…an able warrior. The best."

"One might deduct as much from a cursory glance, girl. You'll have to do much better than that."

Her brows furrowed as she thought on the question harder. "He is…the son of a great demon lord, and strives to become as great as his father was."

The lady's glare told Ayami that she had not been satisfied.

"He is…intelligent…and quick…and is not hesitant to charge into battle…he—he—"

"Mortal, you try my patience. What is my son? I will give you only one more chance to answer."

Frustrated, Ayami gripped the hair near her ears. She hardly knew what the lady was asking!

"How am I to know _what_ he is?" she finally exploded, near tears with anger. "Except that he is an arrogant, soulless man who feels _nothing_! There is no warmth in him…not in his eyes or his touch. Everything he touches withers or dies. When he speaks, it is from the lofty pedestal he has set himself up on. There is no emotion, no passion, just cold—stone—I don't think he even _has_ the _capacity_ to feel anymore!"

"That," the Lady Taiyoukai responded coolly, "is the strength of youkai. Emotion hampers judgment and makes the heart weak and susceptible to attack. If he seems _cold_—as you so claim—it is because your own weakness. All these things you have said to me, they will allow my son to walk the path of supreme conquest."

Ayami's fiery burst of passion was extinguished by her calm reply. She remained stunned for a while.

"…And yet…" Ayami began slowly, in a voice hardly more than a whisper. She thought of Rin, and how different the cold demon was when the little mortal girl was at his side. She thought of the day they had first met; how protective Sesshomaru had been of the little girl, and how hostile he had been towards her as a potential threat to his ward. She remembered how he had not only remembered Rin's humble comment about having a family, but acted upon her wish, though he clearly despised Ayami and the thought of having her around was utterly repulsive to him.

None of these things seemed to fit the Lord Sesshomaru she had just described. Protective? Passionate? Loyal to a mortal girl, even to the point of sacrificing of his own desires? It was impossible!

"…Sometimes I think there is something more. Something that only his father and Rin know how to teach him—"

Ayami found herself on her back, stunned, tasting bitter blood in her mouth. Her face stung only after a few moments, and only then did she realize that she had been struck.

"There are times," the Lady's voice was calm, contrasting to the lightning-quick attack she had just unleashed that had knocked the breath from Ayami's lungs, "when truth is better left unsaid. Remember this, too, in the presence of my son."

The Lady left her on the floor to bleed.

Ayami couldn't catch her breath, and it wasn't from the slap.

What she had said earlier…_was it even possible?_

* * *

Sesshomaru's mother pulled Ayami from the pavilion. As soon as they exited, the Lady Mother spoke with a loud voice so everyone below could hear.

"You have chosen poorly, Sesshomaru. This woman is an Omega."

Sesshomaru fixed his mother in his heated gaze, but waited until she had descended from the dais, with an abashed Ayami in tow, to respond. "And how would that concern me?"

"I am merely telling you what I saw."

"That woman is not my mate."

"Nonetheless, she is your servant."

Sesshomaru spoke to Ayami without even glancing at her. "Join Rin and Jaken on Ah-Un. We will leave immediately."

Ayami was only too glad to do so. She could almost taste the tension between the mother and son, and she could tell that she was not wanted.

"What is the impurity I sense in her blood?" Sesshomaru demanded.

"Mortal. You never could stand the stench."

"That is not what I speak of."

"Oh? I don't know what you're talking about, son."

"You lie," Sesshomaru accused his mother. "You know full well the woman is not human."

"Perhaps," was her snide reply. "But if you want to know so badly, you should find out for yourself. Your poor mother grows old, Sesshomaru. I cannot do everything by myself."

Sesshomaru turned and abruptly began to move toward the others.

"Are you leaving so soon?"

"The only reason I came was to find out what that smell in her blood means."

"Then know this, if you must leave."

He stopped and turned his head over one shoulder.

"You will be the death of that woman, Sesshomaru, and if you insist on keeping her, she will destroy you in turn."

"I will not be felled by a mortal woman."

"But you said yourself, son, she is not mortal."

"Regardless."

"One does not have to kill to destroy. You, of all people—shamed by your father as you were—should know that."

His eyes narrowed. "What are you implying?"

"Are you so cruel, Sesshomaru?" she asked. "I have said it: you will kill that woman. She will not long survive in the marble halls of your keep. She will wither, and she will die."

"She's only a mortal servant. She is nothing to me."

"You said yourself, son: she is no mere mortal."

Sesshomaru hesitated, then brushed the comment aside with a scoff. "Ridiculous."

* * *

A/N: I WILL fix this chapter. I just can't get it to sound right...meh. Anyway, next chapter is where the action begins: I'll try to get it up before my Christmas break is up and I have to go back to college craziness.


	10. The Western Keep

Chapter Ten: The Western Keep

They arrived at the Western Keep in the late afternoon. The sun had been warm on her back as she had flown on Ah-Un with Rin, and the breeze had been gentle and pleasantly cool. Rin sang the entire flight, undaunted by Jaken's protests. They had followed Sesshomaru's trail in serenity for the better part of the day. The Taiyoukai did not look back even once, and his cold aura was the only damper on Ayami's spirits.

Though to be fair, it was an enormous damper.

The Western Keep was a well-placed fortress. Its position high on a hill nestled between two mighty mountain ranges made it a daunting feat to reach. The only path on land to the fortress was through a pass so narrow that in some places there was not room for two grown men to stand side-by-side. The terrain of the hill on which the Keep was perched was treacherous; the ground was loosely packed earth that often gave way, and the slope was near vertical in places. A mountain river wound its way around the front of the Keep; a natural moat on the side that was not backed by mountains or sheer cliffs. The easiest, and maybe the only, way in was by flight.

"Is this Lord Sesshomaru's castle?" Rin asked as they flew above the fortress and began their descent, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"It must be," Ayami said. "And it suits him well." Indeed, the fortress appeared nearly as strong, cold, and impregnable as the Taiyoukai himself.

The Keep was as lifeless and cold as a winter's gale. Everything was stone. When her feet touched the ground, it was on marble that she stood. The walls surrounding the keep were immense. At either side of the only gate stood statues: as terrible as they were large. Two great dog demons had been carved in the blindingly white stone, each poised mid-strike, with one enormous paw extended. No detail had been spared, and it seemed that every hair on the great monuments had been chiseled to perfection. The great guardians in all their horrible glory terrified Ayami, but she did not dare to say so.

She was led through a door of iron: four times as tall as Sesshomaru, the width of ten men or more, and as thick as another two. Walking through that entrance, Ayami felt very small. As she passed into the shadow cast by the stone walls of the fortress, she felt a strong chill nearly overtake her. It seemed that her blood ran icy despite the fiery poison in her veins.

She imagined that the place to which she would soon be closely tethered would be very much like the home in which she had been raised. After all, she and Sesshomaru were both royalty, in at least the barest sense of the word. She pictured gardens in full splendor and finery—perhaps scrolls of calligraphy, delicate needlework, or perhaps heirlooms of retired blades. Naturally, there would be nothing too extravagant, for it was not like Sesshomaru to be heavily ornamented, but she assumed there would be enough to display the prestige of Sesshomaru's bloodline.

She was wrong.

The inner palace was a plain structure: interconnected rooms formed into a rectangle with only three sides and a courtyard in the center. The pillars that supported a vaulted ceiling were a black-veined stone; which was very unlike the wooden palace she had known as a child. The peaked rooftops were shingled with a dark gray stone that glimmered ominously in the sunlight. Bordering the rooms and the inner courtyard was a stone walkway, which was how one traveled from one room to another. A few of the rooms were left open, without any walls at all, and the ones that were kept private from the rest of the world had unadorned shoji screens.

"This is your ancestral home, then?" Ayami asked Sesshomaru tentatively.

"Yes." He walked forward, and Ayami followed in his shadow.

He led her silently along the stone walkway, sliding the door to every room open and letting Ayami take a quick glance inside.

The rooms were nothing like she had imagined.

In several rooms there was a futon on a tatami mat squarely in the center of the room. These were bedrooms. In one room there was a small bath above an oven so the water could be heated. Many of the rooms had even less to reveal as they were opened. Most were completely bare. Almost every room's fine wooden flooring was covered in a thick, uniform blanket of dust.

In the entire palace, Ayami saw not one hint of greenery or gardens, art, heirlooms, or means to make music. With every door to a barren or barely furnished room that was opened, Ayami's spirits sank.

"My Lord," Ayami began just as he had pressed his hand to another door to slide it open. He did not respond verbally, but looked slightly over his shoulder to peer at her.

"I—I am not used to such…"

"You will make the accommodations suit you, woman." His eyes were cold as steel.

"No, My Lord. It's not that. There is…enough. Enough to live on. But I wonder if you would permit me to—". Belatedly, she remembered the warnings of Sesshomaru's mother earlier that day and bit her tongue hard. She trailed off, wishing that she had not spoken at all. She looked down at her feet and shuffled them nervously.

"You have already begun to speak, girl. Have the decency to finish."

"Is there anything more to this place? Something like—home? Art…music…something of beauty?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Forgive me, Lord Sesshomaru. It was not my place to say. Your fortress…it is a fine place."

He turned his eyes back to the shoji screen before him. "_Home_?" he asked. "It is a human word."

They surveyed another two or three rooms in silence, until Sesshomaru completely passed over one room. Surprised, as Sesshomaru had been extremely thorough, Ayami stayed behind and slid the door to take a peek inside.

Sesshomaru slammed the door shut before she had a chance to open it enough for even the smallest glimpse. He didn't have to say anything to express his intense displeasure. Ayami cowered under his glare. "Forgive me…I didn't mean to pry. It's just, you've been so open about all the other rooms I thought for sure you must have passed over it by mistake…"

"Impudent woman." And he turned and continued, silent as before.

But Ayami took note of that room. Beneath her embarrassment for being caught, her curiosity had been piqued. From the shadows she saw behind the shoji screen, she thought for sure that she saw the outline of something large inside.

"Was that your private quarters, my Lord?" she asked.

"No."

She received no further answer, and to be honest, Ayami hadn't expected even that.

They continued to survey the grounds. There was a kitchen, modest in size for so large an estate, a large meeting hall that could have been impressively regal had it been properly furnished. Separate from the main structure were the servant's quarters, a wash room, an empty armory, guard towers, a storehouse, and even stables. With every peek into an empty room, Ayami started to imagine what the room had been meant to be, because unless the InuYoukai were fond of accommodating entire villages, those rooms could not simply have been meant for guest lodging. Her attention began to slip as she imagined private studies, libraries, art studios, tea houses, music rooms…

Once, this place must have housed many. She could only speculate as to the splendor that the Western Keep had in days now past.

"Ayami." The word jarred her from her thoughts.

"Yes, My Lord?" she smiled uneasily, hoping she had not done something stupid while she had been absorbed in her daydreams.

Sesshomaru frowned his disapproval. "Am I _boring_ you, Ayami?"

"Not at all. I was just…thinking."

"Hn." Thankfully, he did not inquire as to what she had been fantasizing. "This is where you will stay." And he slid open the door to the last room.

It was as plain as the rest of the bedrooms, with only a futon and a tatami mat. Ayami had half the nerve to ask why this one as opposed to any of the others, but decided at the last minute to hold her tongue. She had questioned enough today, and she could tell that his patience with her was wearing extremely thin.

She stepped inside, leaving footprints in the dust. Sesshomaru stayed firmly rooted outside.

"I'll need to shop, my Lord."

He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "What for?"

"For starters, there's no food here, my Lord," Ayami replied. She understood that youkai needs were different than a human's, and he was probably not used to considering them. "And no pots or pans to cook with. There is not enough bedding to keep us warm through the cold nights."

Sesshomaru did not seem put out by her request. "Make a list of the things that Rin will require, and I will see to it that they are brought here." The fact that he was not considering her needs was not lost on her.

"I have no paper or ink, my Lord."

He pressed his lips into a thin, disapproving line in his annoyance. "Very well. We will lodge here for the night, and I will take you to a human village tomorrow for the supplies."

"You are most gracious, my Lord." It was the wrong compliment to pay, and they both knew it, but Sesshomaru let it pass.

"Get your rest. We will leave at dawn and I do not want you to slow me down because you are weary."

"As you say, my Lord."

Rin was wandering in the courtyard, jumping from room to room in excitement, examining her Lord's keep with enthusiasm. Sesshomaru soon joined her, pointing her toward the rooms that she needed to be familiar with.

Ayami approached Ah-Un and patted the dragons' noses. She took the reins gently and guided the beast toward the stables. When they were situated, Ayami took what few belongings she had from the saddlebags and then went to her room. She changed in silence, listening to Rin's laughter and Jaken's endless protests and chidings for the girl.

She smiled softly, but felt very grave as she laid on her futon. This place was a wasteland. How Sesshomaru expected her to raise Rin without human companionship in this cold and desolate place was beyond her.

And she was to be locked in. No matter how grand the grounds were (and in the most important areas they were sadly lacking), she was sealed in. It was a cage; a prison.

The poison in her blood flared, as if in reaction to her thoughts. She groaned and tried to rub the fire away, but it would not relent.

The word "prisoner" would not leave her mind, and it haunted her dreams.

* * *

"We have another job for you," the red-faced man gulped. "It's…urgent."

She almost didn't even consider the offer. With her last mission completed, she now had wealth enough to feed several households for a month or more. She had been paid in _gold_, this time, which was extremely rare these days. The bag with the coins sat just inside the threshold of her home, casually tossed there upon her entry earlier that morning. The more courageous of the villagers eyed it, but only once, and they all knew better than to expect so much as a second glance.

She sat against the wall of her hovel, examining her fingernails, trimming them with the tip of a short dagger. She hummed, then held her hand before her. As she observed their length, she replied in voice as dark and velvety as midnight, but with the sting of a whip. "Why should I? You still haven't paid me that rice we agreed on for that last demon I took care of."

The man gulped. "N-No, lady. The planting season—"

"Then call when the planting season is over. I tire of the loans."

"You don't understand!" one of the younger men burst out. "It's not just any demon, it's Lord Sesshomaru!"

Now picking her teeth with the dagger's tip, her eyes glanced upward, intrigued. Her voice did not show it. "A _lord_?"

"A Taiyoukai. Son of the Inutaisho, Lord of the West."

"A _Taiyoukai_," she repeated. "In this filthy hovel of a village?" She chuckled dryly. "What, did he come to buy _rice_?"

"But I'm sure it's him!"

"No mistaking it."

"If he is so great, then why bother with prey like you vermin? His pride must be _writhing_ to have to sink so low." She sighed. "A petty demon noble that has sunk so low as to rely on the likes of you for sustenance is hardly worth my time. I find myself intensely disinterested."

The villagers began to sweat. "Half of the treasure in the shrine," one offered with gritted teeth, "for his head."

"All of it," she said. "In advance."

Her declaration turned the men's faces from red to livid purple. "_All_ of the treasures in our sacred shrine…"

"It is a pittance to ask, especially for a Taiyoukai." Her eyes gleamed with dark laughter. "The profits from it all might feed me for three days."

The silence held for several minutes, but the villagers had known from the beginning that they could never have won. "Agreed."

"Pleasure doing business with you." She smiled, catlike. "As soon as the treasure is brought here, I will rid you of this…_Lord_ Sesshomaru."

"But lady, he's here now! Perhaps payment can wait…"

"And if you leave out so much as a gold button, I will know it."

The villagers left, disparaged. They knew firsthand that she wasn't lying.

* * *

A/N: Before anyone flames me for giving Sessh a castle, _it's not a castle_, it's a keep. And really, he doesn't spend much time there. At all. As I will explain later.

Also, I know nothing of feudal Japanese architecture other than what I see in InuYasha. (What a source, I know). Anyway, if anyone could critique me for validity, I would be most grateful.

Next chapter we meet "her". I think you'll find it highly amusing. Chapter title: "A vassal and a guard" or something thereabouts. It will probably be something that sounds less lame.


End file.
